Housing prices have
tremendously appreciated year-over-year and have surpassed all
median home prices for the county since 2008, closing out 2013
at five-year highs. June 2014 saw a milestone increase in the
median, rising by $5,000 to a countywide median price of $600,000.
This is the highest median home price since August 2007 and an
increase of $55,000 over the previous June.

Average apartment rents for Orange County have spiked with housing price growth,
with an average of $46 higher rents in 2014 compared to the previous
year’s equivalent average. The Orange County average rental rates
in June 2014 are the second highest for the year thus far, increasing
since the previous month to an average of $1,736 – a small boost
of $6 versus May 2014 and an increase of $49 compared to last
May. The gap between years is slowly closing, implying a stabilizing
price level for rental homes.

The number of residential building permits in Orange County receded significantly
in January 2014 but saw ample growth in February 2014. Orange
County permits fell slightly to 872 in May, the first month-over-month
decline in new residential permits for Orange County. Nonetheless,
permit activity is up since the previous year supporting healthy
growth. Irvine comprised a smaller share of permit activity than
usual, claiming only 23 percent of May’s residential permits.
Anaheim leads permit activity for May 2014, with 427 permits recorded
– nearly 50 percent of the county’s permits in this month.

Orange County’s median home price is compared to other regions, showing
the year-over-year and month-over-month change in value.

Source: Dataquick

Average
Apartment Rents Orange County and by Major City

This indicator shows the average apartment rent for major Orange County
cities and for the county average as a whole. The county average as a whole
is not the average of the seven cities shown in this chart but for all the
cities in Orange County.